Single hen

[rarara]

Are you buying your hens because of their looks? Their egg laying abilities, temperament or egg colour. Or anything else?

I keep thinking i'd like to have hens that lay different egg colours but also have a temprerament that will suit having children around (yet to find those breeds). Then I look at the chickens and then there are some that are simply stunning.

 

Also, those that buy for egg laying ability, what do you do when said bird stops laying eggs?

[Valkyrie]

When we got ours it was mainly because I liked the huge ones that don't want to fly. In hindsight it would have been better to have got used to handling smaller hens because quite a few times my nose has been bashed and I got this enormous long scratch from scrabbling big feet. Low egg production was fine because I was the only one at the time who ate them apart from cakes. Now both OH and DD scoff them and I actually had to buy some this winter! At the moment I have given some to a friend and my mum because they are laying quicker than I can use them.

The main thing is to look for healthy birds (apart from exbatties who are poor little mites and need some TLC). Legs must be smooth and listen to the breathing - don't have any that wheeze.

Choosing is very difficult - because you tend to want more. So far I have resisted the urge!

As I am fairly new to this, there will be lots more advice coming up from the lads and lassies on here.

Edited to add - when they stop laying they will still be pets, but by then we hope to have a smallholding and can get more birdies.

[tom123]

check out this site...

 

http://www.poultryinfo.weebly.com

 

very helpful

 

Tom

[sunshinesupernova]

I've just collected 7 girls today.... to add to the 3 I got last week..

 

 

I went to various places to look at chickens and work out what I wanted well in advance of purchase.

 

I got two big feathery cochins and an orpington that are all very laid back. I'm besotted with the cochins already.

 

My hybrds are fairly friendly...... but I too wanted coloured eggs and have also come back with 3 cream legbars which are very noisey and flighty .... and seem as mad as a box of frogs !

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I got 3 that were different colours that looked nice in a group .

[BeckyBoo]

I'd like to say that I chose mine for suitability with lifestyle, compatability with children, egg production per year, but actually all of mine were chosen because they were "pretty". Sort of an "Oooohh, look, I want one of those" moments. The only exceptions were the original Omlets chooks as obviously there's only a choice of two types and the ex-batts. That said, now I've had a few breeds I won't be getting a leghorn again - too flighty, and even though I've got one now, I wouldn't necessarily get another cream legbar, also too flighty, too dim and squawks like a cartoon duck! But then I want pretty blue eggs.......I'm just too shallow when it comes to hens!

 

BeckyBoo

[Hen Watch]

Have you seen this? Prices out of date but info good.

http://www.omlet.co.uk/files/public/omlet_guide_buying_chickens.pdf

 

Egg colour wasn't a consideration for me, temperament was, so I felt Omlet would know their stuff and I bought my hybrid girls from Omlet. My hybrid Gingernuts and Miss Pepperpot are extremely friendly, good with my kids, good layers. I do expect as they lay all year, that very shortly they will finish laying (2 years on and they are already winding down) and they will remain as non-egg producing pets and I will go back to buying eggs However, in an ideal world if I had loads of room I would get 2 new ones every year to keep the supply going. But unfortunately I don't have the space for that.

 

4 weeks after I got them I bought a chicken from an agent and it wasn't as scary as I thought it might be. My Amber Star hybrid is docile and lovely.

 

However, in future, I would like to get some pure breeds that might lay longer, albeit less frequently in Winter.

 

I guess if you are not buying your chooks from Omlet but locally sourcing, what you decide to get will largely depend on what is on offer. Don't be afraid to ask what breeds you can buy locally and then ask for some advice on those breeds on this forum. Someone is bound to have one. Then you can make some informed decisions before you turn up to buy. However, once you do make a trip to buy, it is really hard not to be ruled by the heart and fall in love with something you weren't planning on getting. So a list of definate no no's is a good idea before you get side tracked.